A Portrait of Hohenheim
by BellatorDeiLodie
Summary: Ed has hated his father for longer than he can remember, and for things he won't allow himself to forget. Face to face with the truth of Hohenheim's character, Ed is left to grapple with the question; what if Hohenheim is, of all things...human?


**My first actual story on fanfiction! Huzzah! Oneshot.**

**_ A PORTRAIT OF HOHENHEIM_**

Edward Elric watched from an upstairs window as his father strode off down the road. It was still early, but he hadn't slept well the night before, and had risen with the sun. He shivered in the residual morning chill. Drawing a blanket around his shoulders, he turned and headed downstairs.

Already busy with the day's work, Pinako Rockbell was mildly surprised to see Ed up so early. Sensing something amiss, however, she merely nodded a good morning before returning to the task at hand. Ed sank into a chair by the table and morosely rested his head on his hands. There was silence for a few moments, then-

"He left without saying goodbye."

This was the truth, Pinako knew, and so she said nothing.

"He left without saying goodbye," Ed quietly repeated. Drawing in his breath, he slowly exhaled. "Just like last time. Just like every time."

"He didn't want to wake you," Pinako replied.

Ed slammed his fist on the table. "That's not why and you know it!" Then he sighed and dropped his head back on his hands. "He never did. Not even when Al and I were kids. He always snuck out before dawn and left mom to do all the explaining."

"Hohenheim has always been very independent."

"Yeah," Ed responded, his eyes turning to steel with every word, "Hohenheim the independent, going off to impress the world with his mighty alchemy, living his grand life in secrets and mystery, while his family sits at home and waits every day for their hero to return. Only you know what?" Ed turned to face Pinako. "the heroes you hear about in books and legends? They don't exist. The truth is, every one of them left people behind, people who knew who they really were, and like fools chose to love them, anyway. You never hear about them, the ones who get left behind to die with broken hearts." He laughed a little. "Guess their lives wouldn't make for very fun reading."

Ed turned his face away, and for a moment the only sound in the room was that of the steaming teakettle. Abruptly, Pinako pushed her chair away from her work bench.

"Come with me. There's something I need to show you."

Having nothing better to do, Ed rose from the table and followed her out the door.

Pinako led the way to a shed out by the garden. She stopped at the locked door and turned to Ed. "Care to do the honors?" Ed clapped his hands together, using alchemy to transform his index finger into a small key. In seconds, the door was open. Pinako stepped inside and rummaged about. Presently, Ed noted the dull clanking of metal. It sounded heavy.

"Gonna stand there all day? Give me some help with this thing, you good-for-nothin' alchemist."

"Geez, woman, can't you just ask nicely for a change, or is cranky in your genes?!" All the same, Ed stepped forward and grabbed the end of a long canvas casing. He braced himself, heaved the object into the air….and nearly fell over at its surprising levity.

"You crazy shrimp, hold onto your end!"

"I AM NOT A SHRIMP, YOU OLD CROW!" Ed screeched, dropping his end completely.

"All right, all right, you hypersensitive…gaaa, never mind! Just pick up your end!"

Together they moved the object onto the grass, where Pinako carefully pulled off the casing.

"It's…a canoe," Ed stated, obviously.

Pinako refrained from making one of a dozen derisive remarks, and said simply, "Hohenheim made it."

Ed's eyes widened, and his hand froze as it touched the gleaming side. Abruptly, he turned away, but only made it two steps before Pinako's voice reached him.

"He made it for you, Ed. For you, and Al, and your mother, too."

Hence the reason it had seemed abnormally large for a canoe, Ed thought.

"You may not remember this, Ed, but there was a day, when you were about four, when your father came home absolutely radiant. I don't know why, exactly. My impression was that there'd been some major developments in the East. Anyway, your father came home that weekend more happy than he'd ever been, and he brought this," she gestured to the canoe, "with him."

Vague memories began to surface fuzzily in Ed's mind.

"His plan, as he confided to Winry and I, was to take all of you out to the lake the next day, and surprise you with a three-day camping trip. He had all the food and equipment ready, even a few beginner's alchemy books so he could teach you and Al a few things."

Ed closed his eyes as faint recollections came back; his father, laughing and smiling, swinging little Al up in the air and kissing Trisha full on the mouth. Trisha's cheeks had gone pink, but she'd been laughing too, Ed remembered. His father had spent the evening giving the boys horsey rides and chasing them in the golden evening light and tickling them till they gasped for breath. That night Ed and Al had watched as their parents sat under the front tree and talked very softly for a very long time.

Ed's fists clenched. "And then he left."

"Yes," Pinako sighed. "I don't know what precisely happened, but sometime that night he received an urgent message calling him to Central. Something big must have gone wrong, I think, to call him back so suddenly."

"A surprise, "Ed muttered. "He told us all he had a big surprise for us the next day. Some surprise!" He laughed, but without any humor.

He started when Pinako grabbed his arm. "Ed, for once in your life, listen to me. Your father is not a perfect man."

Ed started to emphatically agree, but Pinako shushed him. "I know that better than most. He's one of the most hardworking and driven individuals I've ever known, and fiercely dedicated to his family."

Ed snorted. Pinako ignored him.

"But somewhere along the line he got his priorities mixed up. He thought that the best way to love you was to fight to protect you." She shook her head. "Now, he doesn't know how to do anything else."

"Never forget, Ed, that no matter how bad he may be at showing it, your father loves you very much. He's just a stubborn man too unsure of himself to know how to show his love."

Ed stood for a moment, the wind blowing his hair gently around his face. He turned back to the canoe his father had built, running his fingers lightly along the edge. Pinako noted the unobtrusive movement.

"He told me it was made out of some kind of Northern wood. Very light, and yet harder than marble. Extremely difficult to work with, but it'll last forever."

Turning to go inside, she paused, and turned back." You know, Ed, you and Hohenheim are more alike that you know. You share a fear of expressing emotion, and you both have a fiery temper when aroused. You're also loyal to a fault when it comes to those you love."

She headed off toward the house, leaving Ed staring down at the sleek canoe. He lifted his eyes from the rich brown wood below to the cloudless morning sky above. It looked to be a cold, clear day. Looking back at the vessel, he frowned. "As long as I got all his other good traits, he might have had the decency to let me inherit some of his height," Ed grumbled, to no one in particular. He shook his head, but a small smile tugged at his lips. Slowly, he pulled the covering back over the canoe. After dragging it to its place in the shed, he carefully locked the door behind him. He turned, buried his hands in his pockets, and made his way through the chill air to the hot breakfast he knew Pinako would be making.

**This story was inspired by a prompt by my friend, WaffleMonster. It had to be Fullmetal and serious, which I did to the best of my ability. My prompt was 'canoe.' All things considered, I don't think it went too badly. WaffleMonster liked it, so you should, too. I'm really bad about reviewing, so I won't beg you to do something I too often forget, but if you remember and are more motivated than I, any review you care to submit would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all for reading! ~Lodie**


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